The Deville You Know
by Ads611
Summary: Newly-single Sonya Deville arrives for her first day on the main roster. When she meets her new teammate, sparks are flying in her mind, but could anything actually happen?
1. Chapter 1

The Deville You Know

"Hello? Earth calling Sonya?" Mandy Rose tried to get through to her friend but her attention was well and truly gone. She tried snapping her fingers in her face and that got through, but did nothing to please her.

"Don't do that! What's wrong with you?"

"We've arrived at the arena, thought you might like to get out of the car?"

"Oh." Sonya Deville fumbled for her seatbelt release, got out of the car and went to retrieve her bags. The look on her face was not what you would expect from someone who had just arrived as she had been instructed to, at the arena where, by the end of the night, she would have likely made her debut as a main roster WWE superstar. Monday Night Raw began in about hours all they knew was to be ready to perform and that they had a meeting with Triple H.

"Will you at least try and look excited?" Mandy asked, getting frustrated. "Come on, this is the biggest day of our lives!"

Sonya's head dropped and Mandy realised what she'd said. "I'm sorry, that was a bad choice of words. You have to forget her. She's not worth you thinking about."

"I know." Sonya replied in a low tone. "I thought she was going to be the one though, she didn't like me leaving on the NXT road trips, but I thought it was just that she missed me. Then I tell her I've been called up to Raw and all hell broke loose. She said I had to choose, her or this."

"I know she did. She was trying to force you to give up on your dream to do what she wants instead. She didn't support you, which she would have done if she truly loved you."

"Exactly, after all we went through, and it turns out she didn't love me. It hurts."

Mandy gave her friend the hug she knew she needed. "I know hun, but you have to put it out of your mind, at least for the rest of today. You can't let Hunter see you like this, if he thinks you aren't ready, we won't be on the show tonight, we might get sent back to NXT. I don't want that, and I know you don't, not really."

"Of course not. This is what I've wanted for a long time. I'm not going to mess it up."

"There you go, now let's go, really nail this, then we can go for drinks afterwards and you can cry or rage about her." Sonya laughed and nodded her agreement. They took their cases and headed inside, figuring the first thing would be to find the women's locker room.

Before they could get too far though, they saw a very familiar face, one that they didn't expect to see. Sara Amato, the assistant head coach at NXT, talking to an older man. They both knew who he was, but hadn't met him before.

"Hi girls! Welcome to Raw!" Sara said with delight, hugging each woman in turn. "Sonya? You ok?" She said, as her hug was considerably lacking.

"Yeah, just stuff at home, bad timing." Sonya tried to change the subject and her attitude before meeting anyone else, starting with the person Sara was talking to. She extended a hand. "Sonya Deville."

"Dave Finlay, but everyone calls me fit. It's good to meet you both in person, I've seen a lot of your NXT shows and I think you will be a great addition to Raw. I handle a lot of the production work for the women's matches so we will get to know each other much better. For now though, Hunter said if I saw you to send you to his office. It's down that corridor and to the right, I'm sure you will see the signs."

"Thank you sir." Mandy said, making Finlay put his hand up.

"Not sir. Call me Fit, or Finlay, but never sir. You know Hunter doesn't like it, and neither do I."

"You got it, Fit," Sonya said as they continued their way through the building, following the directions they were given. Even without them they would have been fine as everything was clearly marked. They were soon stood at a door marked 'Hunter's Office"

"You ready?" Mandy asked to a nod. "Forget everything about Chloe, that selfish bitch is your past. It's time for the future."

"Thanks. I know you're right. Shall I?" Sonya got a affirming nod and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Came Hunter's unmistakable tone. The two of them entered to office and Hunter was quickly on his feet, over to shake their hands. "Welcome to Monday Night Raw. Mandy, you're going to wow them. Sonya, wait till they see...the look on your face. What's wrong?"

Mandy rolled her eyes and turned to her friend, even though she knew the answer.

"I'm sorry Hunter. I'm really excited for this. But it cost me my relationship. I got dumped yesterday."

"This business can be cruel." Hunter said, putting a hand on Sonya's shoulder. "But take it from someone who has been there, you never know what's around the corner. When Steph and I had our tv drive-thru wedding, we had spoken to each other maybe five times, and I was seeing someone else. But things worked out the way they did, and now I couldn't be happier."

"I hope I get as lucky as you. Is Stephanie not here?"

"Hey, hands off, she's mine." Hunter said in a joking manner, getting a laugh out of both women. "But on that note, if you find any hostility coming your way, especially about your sexuality, you come straight to me. I'm expecting there to be none at all, just like in NXT, and anyone who does will find themselves in big trouble."

"I appreciate that, I can't wait to get in the ring tonight." Sonya felt pumped up, Hunter has boosted her confidence tenfold.

"And you will, but tonight, neither of you will be in a match." Hunter said, leading to confused looks from both women.

"We aren't debuting tonight?" Mandy asked.

"You are indeed. You will be in a segment with several other women. We hadn't told you the details for security, Fit is briefing Alicia, Mickie, Bayley and Sasha as they arrive. We had you come straight in to try and avoid many fans seeing you. It helps with the surprise.

"So we are doing something with all of them?" Sonya asked, happy to hear Bayley's name, as they were friends from their time at the Performance Center.

"You are. You will be part of a new faction we have put together. To help you with your transition you are going to be teaming with a superstar who has been on the roster for a few years, but has been out with an injury. You can all help each other settle in, it's just resettling in her case." Hunter's explanation was cut off by a knock at the door. "Near perfect timing. Ladies, meet your new partner." He said as he opened the door.

The woman who walked in was well known to the two of them, having been one of their judges when they competed on Tough Enough. Although neither won, they both earned their contracts and eventually their places on Raw. Both Sonya and Mandy's faces lit up in surprise and happiness.

"Paige!" Mandy squealed as she raced over to give her a hug. "It's great to see you. How are you?"

"I'm feeling much better Mandy. Happy to be back, and I'm really looking forward to working with you both. After Tough Enough, It makes sense for the storylines, and I've checked out what you've done in NXT since I heard, and

you're doing great. Sonya, how are you doing?"

Sonya didn't get chance to answer before Paige wrapped her up in a big hug. Sonya hugged back, but as Paige squeezed her, she felt all of her upset just disappear. In its place, Sonya felt comfortable. She felt better for the first time since the explosive fight with her now ex-girlfriend.

"There's that smile back." Mandy remarked as the hug ended, although Sonya was slow to let her new teammate go. Before anything else could be said, there was another knock at the door.

"And since everyone's happy, that knock means I need to get back to work. Paige, glad to have you back, look after these two. Ladies, go kick ass tonight." Paige motioned them to the door, knowing that Hunter ending the meeting meant 'get out' but in a much more polite manner. They went past the door and saw Finn Balor, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson waiting outside. Finn's eyes were out on stalks as Mandy went past, she took a good look at him too.

"Ok, I'll show you two to the women's locker room, then I've got to go find Renee, she already texted me." Paige said. She was leading the way but as she looked back she stopped. Sonya wasn't paying attention and walked straight into her, The two grabbing each other to try and keep balance.

Umm, sorry." Paige said as she let go, Sonya taking her cue to do the same. "But we seem to have lost Mandy." Paige indicated Mandy still talking to Finn as we waited his turn to see Hunter.

"Yeah, she'll be a while I think. "Sonya said in a deadpan manner, a little annoyed at her friend for chatting up someone while she had just been dumped.

"Come on then, stick with me, she can find the locker room on her own I'm sure." Sonya nodded and followed as Paige said hi and answered the same questions on how she was with several people. All that she recognised but didn't know. She introduced herself several times over, finding everyone to be welcoming. Having Paige with her while she did that helped her feel more confident, ready for this new challenge.

"There she is!" Came a voice familiar to Sonya, and really to anyone who has any knowledge of WWE at all. Renee Young was one of the most recognisable voices on their tv shows, but she was far from professional as she hugged Paige. Sonya stayed back a little, not knowing Renee or the guy with her personally, although she was well aware that it was her husband, Dean Ambrose.

"Paigey!" Renee squealed into the hug. "I missed you! How are you?"

I'm good, all healed, cleared and back on Raw tonight."

"That's great news, you look fantastic."

"She's right, good to see you Casper." Dean said, to a small smack on the arm from Renee. Sonya just managed to stop a laugh.

"Really, still with the Casper stuff?" Paige smiled and gave Dean a hug.

"It's never going away. Glad you're back and healthy though. Being injured sucks."

"Oh god, I'm sorry, hows your arm?" Paige asked, only knowing of Deans injury from texts and the internet.

"I told you, it sucks." Dean replied. "I still come to tv to be with the missus, but I'd rather be in the ring any day."

"The missus?" Renee exclaimed, poking Dean in the chest. "Call me that again and I'll injure you somewhere else!" This time Sonya did laugh, getting a nasty look from Dean.

"Something I can help you with, rook?" Dean said, very deadpan. Sonya looked at his face and realised she had messed up.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I should introduce myself."

"I don't care who you are." Dean snapped. "You're clearly new around here, or you'd know better. You had better wise up, or you won't be around here long."

Sonya gulped. Her first day and she'd upset a major superstar. If he complained, she'd probably get fired. On her first day.

"I...I..." Sonya looked at Paige for help in desperation. The black haired woman saw her expression and tried to look supportive. Sonya found it helped but needed more. Paige smirked and looked back to the other couple.

"Dean." Paige said in a serious manner.

"What?" He responded. "She needs to learn. If she can't take a rib, she might not like it around here."

Sonya looked around the three of them. "A rib?" She asked. She knew that was locker room talk for playing a joke, but still wasn't sure if it was for real. Seconds later she was sure as all three of them burst out laughing.

"Oh, the rookies are so easy to get." Dean said as he held out his hand. "Welcome to Raw, rook."

Sonya let out a sigh of relief as she shook his hand. "Thank you. My names Sonya Deville if you prefer to use that instead of rookie?"

"We will see." He said with a smile. Renee stepped forward and offered a hug to Sonya, which was accepted gratefully.

"So, we on for dinner and drinks after the show?" Renee asked. "We've got some real catching up to do."

"Sounds great." Paige said. "Just like old times."

"There's a good place we went to last time we were in this city, you'll love it." Renee said, to nods from Paige.

"Oh yeah, great steak. What do you say rook?" Deans invitation caught Sonya off guard. "Me?"

"Yeah, you eat right? Might as well eat with us."

"Yeah, you should." Paige's enthusiasm helped Sonya's confidence.

"That would be great, but Paige, what about Mandy?" Sonya didn't want to abandon her friend.

"Room for one more, right guys?" Paige asked, getting nods in response. "Great, now we better go get changed. See you after the show." Paige said and the two of them headed towards the locker room.

As they got there, they heard Mandy's voice. "Hey, wait up!" Once Mandy joined them, the three entered the locker room. Inside they found Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss in conversation, with Mickie James sat at the far end, dressed for competition. But bearing down on them was a face they all knew.

"Congratulations!" Bayley exclaimed, hugging Mandy and Sonya. "Welcome to the main roster!"

"Happy to be here, and it's going to be great to share the ring with you later." Sonya said.

"Yeah, it'll be good to wrestle you to again. Paige, it's good to see you too. I was really worried about you." Bayley offered a hug, less sure, but smiled when Paige took it.

"Thanks. It's been a hard year. But I'm back and ready to work."

"I'm loving this group they've given you though, the plans seem well thought out, I kinda wish I'd gotten it, but they aren't going to turn me heel to do it."

Paige smiled. "No, that's not likely. Nobody has the connection with the kids that you do. When we get to work together properly, we will show the fans and the writers that you deserve better than you have been getting."

"Thanks, hopefully that will be soon. We know the score for tonight."

"Great, I'll catch up with you in a bit." Paige said as she and Bayley went to talk about their spot in the plans for the evening. Sonya and Mandy sat down and began to find their ring gear to change into.

"I know that look." Sonya told Mandy. "Go on."

"What look?" Mandy tried to act innocent.

"The 'I gotta tell you about this' look. You need to gossip. Go on."

"You sure? Might not be the best subject after all you went through with Chloe." Mandy tried to be thoughtful, but her excitement couldn't be masked.

Sonya sighed at the mention of her ex's name. "It's ok, go on."

"Did you see me with him? Oh my god, he's just so...yummy!"

"Finn? Or have you gone all stupid over Gallows or Anderson?" Mandy ignored the obvious sarcasm form her friend.

"Yes Finn. I haven't really spoken to him before but he's just so hot. And when he said hi, his accent just made me melt."

"Did you manage to talk back to him or did you just stand there and drool?" Sonya said, enjoying making fun of they way Mandy was gushing over the Irish wrestler.

"No I talked thank you, I'm not a teenager anymore. He's really nice and well, he asked me to meet him for a late dinner and drink at the hotel after the show!"

Sonya was surprised. "You've got a dat with Finn Balor?" She asked.

Mandy nodded. "I know, I can't believe it either. My first Raw appearance and a hot date in one night."

"Well it's going to be quite something, but don't let him get more than a cheek kiss at the end of it, you're still a lady."

"Yes I am, but, ohhhh, he makes me wish I wasn't." Mandy gripped Sonya's hands tight to emphasise her point.

They went back to changing for a moment, before something popped back into Sonya's mind. "Oh wait."

"What?" The blonde answered.

"I forgot, in all your swooning, Paige has invited us both to dinner after we get done."

"Oh no, I mean, I don't want to offend her, not ever, but if I cancel on Finn now, he might not ask me out again. I don't want to blow this chance. Can't you make an excuse to her for me. I'll come out with you both next time, but I'm so excited for this, please Sonya."

Sonya saw that Mandy had a look on her face like she'd have gotten on her knees to get her to agree to cover for her, and found she couldn't refuse. "Ok fine, I got you the invite, I'll tell them I didn't know you had prior plans."

"Thank you, Thank you." Mandy said as she checked her self in the mirror, having finished getting ready. "I'll owe you one. Besides, I'm pretty sure you'll be happier if it was just the two of you."

"Oh it's not just me and Paige, Renee Young and Dean Ambrose are going too, it...what's that supposed to mean." Sonya stopped in her tracks as she got the suggestive tone her friend was using.

"I know you Sonya. I'm not the only one with a crush. When you saw Paige, your face lit up like the 4th of July. There are only certain people I've seen you hug like that, and you barely stopped looking at her through this whole conversation." Sonya stopped watching Paige chat with Bayley and Mickie James and turned back to Mandy.

"No I haven't."

Mandy laughed. "Keep telling yourself that. There's nothing wrong with it. You're single now, so the timings perfect and if you want to go for it, then do. It might work out for you the way I want it to work out for me."

Before she could respond there was a knock on the door. Dana Brooke opened it and called to Mickie and Bayley that it was time for their match. They headed out and Paige came back to Sonya and Mandy, sitting between the two.

"You ready? You'll be called any second." Paige put her arms around both her new teammates as she spoke. "The nerves will go the second you get out there. I've got some too if I'm honest."

Sonya appreciated the advice as she did feel some butterflies at that moment. Then she saw Mandy give her a grin. She knew what Mandy was getting at, as she sat with Paige's arm around her and wondered what the real cause of her butterflies was.

Maybe Mandy had a point.

 **A/N: Hi there! Thanks for reading the first chapter of 'The Deville You Know'. I hope you liked it and want to see more. Please consider a follow/favourite or a friendly review, but if not, just reading it means a lot.**

 **I haven't decided if I should include on camera/kayfabe stuff in this so please do let me know if you would rather I did or stuck to backstage and outside the ring stuff like this chapter. I won't be following the Absolution events that have happened if I do, and Paige's injury won't be featured again, at least not to the severity it seems to be in real life.**

 **I hope to see you for Ch2...**


	2. Chapter 2

The Deville You Know Ch2

"Oh wow!" Sonya exclaimed once they were through the curtain. Their Raw debut had just occurred, ending with her and her new teammates standing tall in the middle of the ring.

"Great job ladies." Hunter called out from behind his screen as he kept tabs on the show, which was still going on.

"I missed this so much." Paige said as Bayley and Sasha Banks came through the curtain. The women all shared a quick hug as Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins arrived at Gorilla, Seth about to have a match with The Miz.

"Hey, nice job out there girls." Dean called over as Seth and Bayley began talking about their travel plans for the coming weekend.

"Thanks. Hey, we still on for tonight?" Paige asked.

"Yeah, meet in the parking lot as soon as we are done here. It's open till 2 but I'll be hungry by the time we get there."

"Dean, you're probably hungry now." Paige said with a raised eyebrow.

"That's not the point. Just don't make me wait." Dean said with purpose.

"Ok, back from commercial in 30 seconds and there are too many people here!" Hunter called out over the top of everyone else's voices.

"Right, you have a good match." Paige said as she ushered Mandy and Sonya out of Gorilla ahead of her and around the corner.

"We did it. We really did it!" Mandy squealed, not being able to hold her excitement in any longer.

"Congratulations. You are now WWE superstars." Paige said, with an arm around each. Sonya jumped at the unexpected touch but played it off.

"Paige, we owe you a great deal. Not just today or going forward. But your help in Tough Enough. We might not be here if it wasn't for you."

"That's sweet Sonya, but I didn't do this. I just gave you direction. I was on Mandy's case for weeks on that show."

"Actually yeah. What was that about?" Mandy asked.

"You needed the push. I bet the trainers at the Performance Centre pushed you just as hard, both of you."

"Yeah, but we had the chance to thank them. I haven't had that with you." Sonya said, looking down at her feet."

"Tell you what, buy me a beer, or a few beers tonight, or whenever, and we can call it even."

"That's a deal." Sonya said, laughing.

"Is it right you aren't coming?" Paige asked Mandy.

"I'm sorry. I really wanted to, but I got an offer I just couldn't refuse." Mandy went red in the face as she spoke.

"Look at you, Mandy I know that look. You are totally smitten with him, and you haven't even gone out with him yet." Sonya was making Mandy's face go redder and redder.

"Stop it. Please."

"Come on Sonya. You must have had moments like this. What about your girlfriend, the one I met at Tough Enough." Paige stopped in her tracks as Mandy waved her hands across her to try and get her to stop talking. "What?"

"They broke up." Mandy whispered, even though it was unnecessary, and Sonya could still hear every word.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry. You guys seemed really happy. How long ago?"

"Yesterday". Sonya said with a crack in her voice.

"I'm sorry I asked. Come here" Paige wrapped her hands around Sonya, and squeezed her. Sonya was surprised by it, but found it helped and she hugged back. She didn't realise how much of a smile she had until she opened her eyes and saw the way Mandy looked at her.

"Yeah, um, we should probably get changed, they won't want us going into this place as we are, right? Sonya tried to fix her hair, but really was trying to cover up the fact she was going red in the face.

"Well, I think we would get free drinks, but it's cold out, so come on!" Paige took off at speed for the locker room, the other two following on.

Sonya changed like she was back in high school, as quickly as she could while making herself as presentable as possible. She didn't wait for Paige, but as she exited the locker room, Mandy followed her out.

"Wait." her blonde best friend called, but getting no reaction. Mandy picked up her speed, needing to nearly run to get a hand on Sonyas shoulder, which had the desired effect.

"What?"

"What's with you? Are you mad at me for wanting to go out with Finn?"

"No, you go out with whoever you want to, I'm not your mother."

"Well you're definitely mad. You say that all the time at home and in hotel rooms."

"That's because you're messy."

"And you get on my case like my mother used to. But you're my best friend and I don't like it when you get mad at me like this."

"Then don't give me those looks like you know what I'm thinking." Rather than apologise, the blonde now had a huge grin breakout on her face. "What?"

"Don't even go there, I just wish I could have snapped a picture of the smile you had when Paige hugged you."

"She was trying to be sympathetic, it has been a bit of an emotional 24 hours for me, you might remember?"

"Yeah, and nothing I did for you made you smile anywhere nearly as much as her hug did."

"So what? I just got to appear on Raw. Of course I'm on a high from it, you're smiling too."

Mandy shook her head and held her hands up. "Fine, you don't want to see it, I'm not going to push you, but I know you Sonya. You like her. There's nothing wrong with that, and when you are ready to admit it, I'm here for you."

Sonya rolled her eyes. "Yeah sure, whatever you say honey, now back in the real world, are you ready for Finn?"

Mandy began playing with her hair, getting her phone out and trying to check it using the camera. "I think so, is my hair ok, what about my lipstick? It's not too trashy is it?"

"Depends, what are you going for?"

"I don't know, I don't want to make him think I'm easy or anything, but if he wanted to make a move, I wouldn't stop him." Mandy looked away, knowing her friend wouldn't approve, which was proven to be true when she looked back.

"Amanda, you listen, you are not easy, you've never been loose with your morals, or anything else." Sonya had to stop as Mandy giggled. Sonya couldn't help it and she did too. "Just be sensible, and don't drink too much, look, he's coming, be cool and have fun." Sonya went to walk away by Mandy grabbed her hand.

"Hi ladies, good job tonight." The Irish accent of Finn Balor was unmistakeable anywhere. Mandy opened her mouth but nothing came out. Sonya realised it before Finn.

"Thanks, you had a good match too, just a shame you got the short end of it." Sonya quickly interjected.

"Ah, no worries, he's a big fella that Braun ya'know. They'll be a next time, and hopefully me boys will be more help. I'm a bit sore for sure, but hopefully you're still up for dinner?"

Mandy giggled and nodded. "Have her back by midnight." Sonya scolded, her smile showing she wasn't serious.

Finn held out an arm "Of course. Shall we my dear?" Mandy took his arm and they walked off.

"Oh my god." Sonya exclaimed quietly, but not quietly enough for nobody to hear.

"You called?" Sonya turned to see Dean smirking at her, with his arm around his wife.

"Don't mind him, he'd like to think he's a god, but even his arm isn't enough to convince him he's an ordinary mortal like the rest of us." Renee could still sense Sonya being a little unsure around him.

"I don't know I'm pretty sure you've shouted out "Oh god" on many occasions, last night I..."

"Dean!" Renee exclaimed as she elbowed him in the ribs. Sonya couldn't help but smirk, just as Dean did to get the reaction he wanted. "I'm sorry about him. But not that sorry, I'm the one who married him!"

"Yes you did, and you love it!" Paige laughed as she caught the end of their exchange on her exit from the women's dressing room. "Right, drop the cars off at the hotel, then meet in the lobby and call an Uber?

"Yep, and no wasting time, I am beyond hungry." Dean stayed very bluntly as they walked to the parking lot and left, waving to the fans who were staking it out, hoping for a glimpse as they left. Sonya followed the others closely, quietly wishing Mandy had taken their car so she could have avoided driving through them all. Luckily none of the fans were hostile, just wanting a picture, which she did stop and lean out for just a few before she realised the others were gone. "Thanks guys, see you soon!" She called to the fans before stepping on the gas, knowing she'd probably be in trouble with Dean now.

"Right, well since you're the rook, and you were the last one to show up for the Uber, I think it's safe to say the first drinks are on you then!"

Sonya nodded, more than happy to do so. Paige and Renee went to arrange a table for them while she and Dean hit the bar.

Cast Iron Steakhouse was well known locally, it's bar and it's food both proving a big draw for patrons, and although there were open tables as it was late, the volume of people at the bar showed that they'd have never gotten to eat earlier on. Many of them were watching the highlights of that evenings NFL game on the big tv.

"Two Bud Lights." Sonya ordered before looking to Dean for his request.

"I'll have a Johnnie Walker Blue." He said, knowing it was one of the most expensive they had, looking to test their new companion.

"Johnnie Blue, two, on the rocks, make them doubles." Sonya said without batting an eyelid. She did look back to Dean in defiance.

"A whisky drinker huh? I'm impressed Rook." Dean held his glass up to Sonya as she signed for her credit card. Taking her glass, they clinked them together and took a sip, enjoying where the extra money went.

"Hey, over here!" Paige called to them, now sat at a table. Sonya and Dean grabbed all the drinks and joined them, just before the waitress arrived.

"Hi, I'm Samantha, I'll look after you tonight. I see you've got drinks, are you ready to order?"

"Yes they are, pick fast ladies." Dean was in quick. Luckily Paige and Renee had already decided, ordering chicken and salmon dishes with salads respectively. Sonya tried to read the menu as quick as she could. Dean took advantage to order the 14oz ribeye, the biggest on the menu.

"I'll have the New York Strip, medium rare, salad, and a baked potato." Sonya saw the same look on Deans face as at the bar.

"Impressive Rook. Very impressive." Dean sat back and took a sip of whisky.

"Yeah, you can eat a lot huh?" Paige also sounded impressed at that.

"Well not always, I mean, you know the regime we have to keep up, but tonight's special. Thank you for inviting me out with you." Sonya was talking to the group, but hadn't taken her eyes of Paige while she said it, even though she didn't realise it.

The food came and was as up to scratch as was promised before they even got to the restaurant. Sonya had no regrets about her choice and devoured her steak with ease. They all sat back and ordered another round of drinks at the end, just beers this time, the whisky was too expensive to drink all the time.

When the check arrived, Sonya went for it first, thinking it was a good impression to make but just as she got there, Dean whipped it out of her grasp. "Nah, you already paid for the whisky, we'll pay for this. Call it your official welcome back Paige, and your welcome to WWE and our little crew Sonya. Of course by that I mean I'm not paying for steak dinners week in-week out." Dean put his credit card down in front of a stunned Sonya, who was busy doing somersaults in her head that she hadn't been referred to as Newbie or Rook. She felt like she was being accepted.

"Let's have one more drink." Sonya said once the bill had been sorted and the tip left.

"I'm tired, I think it's best to call it a night." Renee yawned, leaning herself against her husband.

"You two go, I'll stay with her." Paige said with a smile that Sonya returned, happy that she wanted to stay with her over her older friends, plus they were going to be working together so bonding was important, she told herself. Paige hugged Renee as they parted. Dean gave them both a nod as he passed them.

"That went well right?" Sonya asked once they were gone.

Paige took Sonya's hands and looked her in the eye. "Yeah, chill out sweetie, it was just dinner, they loved you ok? Everyone's going to love you. I'm glad I stayed, and I think you need another drink. I'll be right back, you just stay here and relax for me ok?"

Sonya watched Paige walk to the bar, looking for a bartender. She found herself unable to take her eyes off her until she found her attention distracted by a guy standing next to her, leaning his hand on the wall.

"Hi." He said, overconfidence in his voice. "I thought you were taken before that guy you were with left with that blonde so knew it was my lucky night. I had to come and talk to you. My names Matt. What's yours?"

"Sonya, but if you're trying to pick me up, don't waste your time. Trust me, you really aren't my type."

"Oh, don't be like that, you don't know me yet. If you give me a chance I promise you won't regret it." The alcohol on his breath was nearly overpowering.

"I know all I need to to know, which is that you and I aren't going to happen, I'm not looking for a _guy_. Ok?" Sonya tried to make her point but without success as his friends tried to help him.

"Come on sweetheart, don't be like that, have a drink with him, he's a good guy!" Someone else called over, passing 'Matt' a beer that he offered to her, forcing Sonya to put her hand up to stop him.

"Look buddy, I wanted to spare your feelings, but right now you're hitting on a lesbian ok? You aren't my type because I like girls. Is that clear enough for you?"

The reaction she got wasn't one she wanted. "You trying to show me up in front of my friends? You think I'm going to believe that crap? Now I've been good enough to buy you a beer, and you're going to drink it with me."

"Is she now? Sonya, you ok?" Paige's return from the bar was well timed, she'd missed the beginning in her quest for their drinks but hurried over as soon as she saw what was going on.

"I'm fine, this guy was just going." Sonya replied to a scoff from Matt.

"Yeah right, I suppose you are going to tell me that this is your so called girlfriend right? Look, she's a pretty little thing too, I've got some single friends over there, she could probably have her pick, but you're mine." Matt took her by the arm but Paige pulled him off of Sonya. The look Paige gave him was one that suggested she was about to punch him.

"Paige, leave him." Sonya said, eager to stop anything that could get either of them in trouble. Matt tried to stare Paige down, wanting her to back away. Paige's gaze went from Matt to Sonya, and before either of them could do anything, Paige stepped forward, put her hand behind Sonya's head gently and pulled the two of them together in a kiss.

Sonya was absolutely shocked at the turn of events, but at the same time, felt a rush of electricity pulsing through her whole body as Paige kept the kiss going. She was being forceful, but not too much. Sonya could not help herself reacting by putting an arm around Paige's waist and kissing her back. There was no tongue used, but the kiss was still deep and passionate.

Matt stood there open mouthed as a big cheer went up from his friends. He was rooted to the spot as Paige broke the kiss.

"Now you've had your show, get the hell out of here." She said as she emptied the beer over his head. Dripping wet, Matt scurried back to his friends who began making fun of him like their lives depended on it. "Way to go Matty, tried to pick up a gay chick and got a beer bath, good job moron!" One guy said while fake applauding. Both the girls laughed at him as he got his coat and headed out the door.

Paige and Sonya finished their drinks in near silence. Paige was thinking about everything that happened. Sonya was thinking about the kiss.

"Earth to Sonya, shall we go?" Paige snapped her fingers in her teammates face, waking her up.

"What, uh, yeah, we should." Sonya grabbed her phone and ordered an Uber as they walked out of the restaurant, a couple of wolf whistles coming from behind them.

The ride to the hotel was nearly as quiet, Paige found herself looking for something to say as they crossed the lobby to the elevator. "You still living in Orlando?"

Sonya was relieved to have the conversation back. "Yeah, I'm sharing with Mandy. You?"

"Yeah, just moved back there from Texas, that's a whole other story, but when's your flight tomorrow?"

"1020. Didn't want the early flight this time. You?"

"Same actually, but because the early flight was full. Shall we share a ride tomorrow?"

Such a simple request still affected Sonya in her current state and she felt herself going red. "Yeah, that'll be good. Oh, you know Mandy will be there too?"

Paige laughed. "Yes I do. It'll be fine." She said as they reached Sonya's hotel room door.

"This is me. Thanks for tonight Paige. I, um, I'm really happy you let me tag along." Sonya tripped over what to say and found her self looking at her feet.

Paige said nothing until she looked back up. "You ok?" Sonya nodded. "I'm glad. It was a good, if unexpected night, but I had a lot of fun with you. And I won't tell anyone, but you're a pretty good kisser." This made Sonya laugh a little, which brought out a similar reaction in the young Brit. "See, we had a good time. Catch you in the morning?"

Sonya nodded again. "Yeah, I'll text you?"

"Great. Night pumpkin." With that Paige turned and headed down the corridor. Sonya stood there for several seconds watching her go before she let herself in. The room was empty, there was no sign of Mandy yet, if indeed she was coming back to the room. Sonya went into the bathroom and threw water on her face before changing into some nightwear and laying down on the bed. As she stared at the ceiling she thought about everything that had happened with Paige, and then her thoughts turned to what Mandy had said to her before any of it happened. Maybe she was right.

"Oh my god." Was the last thought Sonya had before the long day and alcohol put her into a sound sleep.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading. I'm sorry it's been a while. I know I seem to write that at the end of every chapter I put out but it's true. If only I could do this for a living :-)**

 **But seriously, the follows and favourites were beyond expectations. That and the positive reviews that I received really did drive me on with this. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the great feeling I got from each and every one.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Deville You Know Ch3

"Mandy?"

Silence.

"Mandy, are you awake?"

Nothing.

"Mandy!"

Sonya launched her pillow across the room, with it landing on her blonde best friend.

"Uhh?"

"Oh good, you're awake."

"What?"

"Mandy, will you listen to me. I need to talk."

"What time is it?"

"I don't know, about four am?"

Mandy let out a loud groan. "Sonya, unless this is life and death, turn over and go to sleep. Now."

"Mandy you were right."

That had much more of an effect. Mandy turned over and faced her friend. "I told you drinking too much water before bed would make you uncomfortable."

Sonya didn't even acknowledge the attempt at a joke. "No, you were right about Paige."

Mandy looked blank, although the fact she was still more than half asleep played a huge part in that. "Paige? What about her?"

"What you said about her, about me, I think you were right." Sonya braced herself for a response. The response never came. Mandy hadn't understood still. "Oh come on. Mandy, I'm trying to tell you that you were right. I think I am having some feelings for Paige. I don't know what to do and I need you to wake up before I lose my mind!"

Mandy was still quiet for a moment, but her expression had changed. Finally she spoke. "You do? I mean, I know you do. I told you you did. But are you ok?"

"Yes? No? Oh I don't know, I don't know!" Sonya pounded her mattress with her arm in pure frustration.

"Sonya, calm down. You have to think about this. You have to be sure. Breathe." Mandy slowly sat up as her friend was ready to have a moment of craziness. Mandy got a bottle of water from the minibar and handed it over. "Calm down and think."

Sonya thought about how great the last day had been after the misery of its previous. Achieving a goal of her debut on tv, making new friends, a great evening. But most of all she thought about that kiss.

"She sorta , Well, she kissed me last night." Sonya took a second to look up and her friend, and saw her mouth open in shock.

"You two kissed? What the hell?"

"It's not like that, we were getting hit on by these drunk morons, and she kissed me to get rid of them. Worked like a charm too. But what a kisser she is! I can't stop thinking about it."

Mandy smiled. "Ok, so you've definitely got it bad for her, the way that you smile when you talked about it. What are you going to do, ask her out?"

Sonya looked like Mandy was crazy. "What? No! I can't do that. She didn't kiss me because she liked me, we were lucky they didn't recognise her, or they'd know what I do. Paige isn't into girls. I swear I've got the worst gaydar in the world, first it's women who don't truly care about me, and it's leading me to straight chicks now.

Mandy raised an eyebrow. "And you told me you watched the show."

Sonya didn't understand. "What show? What do you mean?"

"Total Divas. When I told you I was going on it you said you'd been watching it for years. Either you were lying or you have a lousy memory."

Sonya knew she was beaten here. "Ok, I was trying to be supportive, I did watch the season you were on though, you know that, you were watching it with me! But what does this have to do with Paige, other than she was on it too."

"There was an episode where she admitted to having been with a woman before."

Sonya's eyes went wide at hearing this. "Are you for real?"

Mandy nodded. "Yeah, I mean, it was just once, and she completely rejected Rosa later on, but it happened, and that means you have to have a chance right?"

Sonya groaned. "One moment years ago doesn't mean she has some repressed gay feelings Mandy. It's ridiculous. She's had only boyfriends since then. I don't have any hope of her actually feeling anywhere close to what I do, and she never will...will she?"

"I don't know Sonya." Mandy said, sitting back down next to her. "But you aren't just going to try and get her into bed right? Right. See what happens. If it's meant to be, it'll happen. You said we are on the same flight home today, and it leaves in a few hours, so let's get sorted and get to the airport."

The two packed their cases and checked out of the hotel, finding an Uber with ease. As they finished at the check in counter, Sonya heard a voice call out that made her whole body tingle.

"Yoohoo! There you are bitches!"

Clad in blue jeans, a leather jacket, and a very stylish hat, Sonya looked at her on screen leader and thought she looked amazing as she walked over. Problem was none of her thought process stretched to opening her mouth or ears, which were not functioning until Mandy jabbed her in the midsection.

"Ah, what was that for?" Sonya saw Mandy direct her attention to Paige, at which moment she realised she may well have been staring. "Sorry." She said in hope.

"Sorry? If you don't want to grab a coffee before the flight that's cool, I'll see you at the gate." Paige said, no idea as to what Sonya was doing.

"No, I mean yes, I mean, coffee sounds good." Sonya couldn't get her words right, and there was a voice in her head screaming at her for being so lame. Mandy on the other hand was doing everything in her power not to laugh at her friend acting like a teenager. Paige of course had no idea about any of it. As the three of them ordered coffees to go and went and sat down while they waited for their flight to be called. Sonya couldn't sit still, crossing her legs, uncrossing them, tapping her fingers on her hand, trying to calm herself.

"Sonya, what's the matter? Are you a bad flyer or something?" Paige asked her, snapping her out of another near trance.

"What? Er no, I'm fine."

"Well that's good, because not liking flying is not going to be very helpful to you in this job. It's not like NXT, you have to sort your own flights, your own hire cars, everything." Both Sonya and Mandy knew this, but it still sounded daunting coming from the only one of them who knew it.

"But you can help us right?" Mandy asked. "You must have some advice on the better airlines, or rental companies, even hotels."

"Yeah, I mean I might be a little bit rusty, and some of these companies might have gotten their act together and just the opposite. I guess we will all find out together."

"We will?" Sonya asked, with a sense of hope.

"Yeah." Paige nodded. "We are going to travel together aren't we? The office usually likes teams to travel together, they think it helps with the characters and helps build chemistry. Plus I want to know you both better. It's been a long time since Tough Enough. Unless you don't want me to? It's ok if you want to the two of you. Nia and Lexi has already asked me, so I'll see if the offers still open?"

Sonya swallowed hard as she found her voice. "No, don't do that, I'd love you to travel with us. I mean we. We would love you to travel with us. Right Mand?"

Mandy was making notes on all of this to make fun of her friend with later, but now she needed her backup. "Of course. We split all the costs, and the driving even though."

"Fine by me, I'll even show you some great places to eat, drink and have fun along the way, as well as the hotels of course. This is great, we need a pic for Instagram. The moment we became a team for real." Paige pulled out her phone and the three of them got close, with Sonya in the middle. Paige lent her head against Sonyas as she took it.

"Look at your smile Sonya, it's beautiful." Paige said on checking the photo. She added a caption and hit send. As she did they heard their flight getting called over the loudspeaker.

"Where are you sitting?" Mandy asked Paige.

"Errm, seat 17C" Paige checked her boarding pass.

"Oh, we are in row 26. I don't suppose you'd switch with me. This ones a talker and I could really do with trying to nap." Mandy asked. Sonya saw straight through her and gave her a death stare.

"You're rolling the dice, I usually get stuck with the worst person on the plane, but if you're a risk taker, then go for it." Paige replied with a smirk.

"Deal. Have fun you two. Mandy switched passes with Paige and headed to the plane.

"You and me then toots. You better not have any bad plane habits, or ill throw you off myself, mid air." Paige laughed, but realised she was the only one. Sonya was trying to keep herself calm and missed the joke, only then realising it.

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking, I don't think I have any, or Mandy might have done that herself."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Paige picked up Sonya's case and headed it to her. "Come on."

Sonya took a breath before following her. 'Be cool, just be cool' she thought to herself as she went to get on board.

Their seats weren't far from the doors so Paige and Sonya got sat down fast. Sonya saw Mandy several rows ahead, giving her a look and a knowing smile.

The blonde was lucky enough to get some sleep, barely waking up before touching down in Orlando. The passengers were up so quickly she wasn't able to see her friends until they were at baggage claim, where Paige waved her over. The three of them collected their belongings and headed into the main airport until the reached the exit.

"There's my ride, my assistant Joey, so, I guess I'll see you back here Friday Mandy. Early flight to Detroit for the house show. Just don't be late. Sonya, I'll text you the address ok? Later chicas!" Paige walked off, hugging the guy who picked her up, then getting in his car.

"Chicas?" Sonya said with a smirk, causing Mandy to laugh.

"Yeah, don't pretend even that didn't light your fire a bit, and what's this about texting you an address then huh?"

Sonya went red, she knew she was busted on that as soon as Paige mentioned it. "Well, we were chatting on the plane, and she, well, she kinda asked me if I wanted to join her for drinks tomorrow night, maybe dinner, she wasn't sure."

Mandy raised her eyebrows. "She asked you out?" The tone wasn't one of certainty, which was easily picked up on.

"I know, but it's almost certainly not like that. But it's a great chance to get to know her."

"It is, she clearly wants to get to know you, wait a minute, how did I not even get an invitation here? Sonya suddenly couldn't look her best friend in the eye. "Sonya? What did you do?"

"I, um, I might have said you were going to spend the next few days with your Mom."

"You lying...man, she's really gotten into your head hasn't she." Mandy couldn't get mad at her friend, she could tell she didn't feel good about it, yet couldn't stop herself from taking Mandy out of the meet-up.

"Yeah, thanks for not getting mad."

"I'll only be mad if you blow it. Come on, let's get UbersYou better get some food in, I'll be round yours at about noon tomorrow." Mandy got her phone out and ordered a car.

Sonya was confused. "Why are you coming round?"

Mandy rolled her eyes. "You know how useless you get on dates."

"It's not a date."

"Maybe not yet, but who knows by the end of the night. We are going to pick out your clothes, do your hair and make up as many times as we need to until we create something that gothic leader of ours will again question which team she's really playing for." A car pulled up behind them and Mandy signalled him, realising he was her driver.

"You really think I've got a chance?" Sonya said, looking for reassurance.

Mandy sighed. "Oh you poor thing. Don't worry Cinderella, you will go to the ball and take Princess Charming breath away. Just don't leave your shoes there, I know how much you pay for them." Mandy laughed as she got into the car.

Sonya watched her leave, then realised she hadn't ordered and Uber herself yet. While she did so and waited for it, she realised she had a lot to do. Not just her laundry and chores, but tomorrow, she had a very big night ahead.

A/N: Well I'm sure you thought this was dead in the water. It's been a very long time since I published anything for it. At one point I thought the same. Paige's return being cut heartbreakingly short by her injury forced retirement made me very unsure what to do. I'll probably take the in ring side of the story out of it to a point, unless it helps the story. I'll certainly not have Paige getting injured or retiring in this story, maybe if there's a sequel. I'll be able to keep Dean Ambrose in it too, despite his departure.

The reason I even picked it up again is dire to a few people who sent me messages via reviews or messages asking me to continue. If you are one of those and you are reading this, then I thank you.

Please let me know any thoughts you have, anything you would like to see, what you think will happen when Sonya and Paige meet up for drinks. I love reading your reviews and it really does mean a lot and inspire me to write, I just ask you keep them friendly.


	4. Chapter 4

The Deville You Know Ch4

Sonya was coming towards the end of her shower when she heard a loud knock at the door. "Dammit, if that's UPS again I'm going to..." she mumbled to herself while she put a robe on and went to open the door. Luckily it wasn't a delivery, but her best friend waiting on the doorstep with two boxes of some sort.

"There you are! I've knocked for ages, and where's your cellphone?" Mandy asked.

"What? I was in the damn shower!"

"That's a long shower Sonya. I've been here over 30 minutes. Having some fun with the shower head were you?" Mandy laughed as she walked past, into the apartment, ignoring the dropped jaw of her friend.

"No I wasn't! I was just, erm, just...30 minutes? Really?" Sonya couldn't believe it had been so long. It had felt like no more than five minutes to her.

Mandy nodded with a smirk. "Yep, you must have gone into your own little world. Maybe planning your date in your mind?"

"It's not a date, I told you that."

"And I told you that I'd be here half an hour ago. I bet you didn't even get any food for us did you?" Mandy put her hands on her hips as Sonya tried to look anywhere so she wouldn't have made eye contact. She'd meant to go out the previous evening to pick up some food for them to snack on, but the evening had been lost to sleep as she passed out on the couch while watching Netflix. She had managed a load of laundry, but that was it till now, and when Sonya looked up, she was met by a glare.

"I knew it." Mandy shook her head, not surprised. "I should have picked something up shouldn't I. Well, you count yourself lucky I'm your best friend and know how your mind was turning to mush. Here you go." Mandy opened one of the boxes to reveal a dozen donuts.

"Donuts? Should we really be eating them? I mean, they look amazing, but, is it a good time?"

"Honey, Paige isn't going to be turned off you because you had a donut or three before your date."

"It's not a date." Sonya repeated.

"Whatever. But you need comfort food. And what's better. Now go put some coffee on." Mandy instructed as Sonya headed to the kitchen.

She came back with two hot steaming coffees, to find Mandy had taken over the room with her makeup case.

"It looks like there was an explosion at Sephora in here. Why did you bring so much?

"I didn't know what was going to work best, and there's so many options. I may have splurged a little, but it'll be worth it when you look like a million bucks to Paige. Now let's start at the beginning, have you picked out your lingerie?"

"Amanda!" Sonya didn't look impressed.

"Come on, what if the date goes well? You don't want to be prepared for every eventuality?" Mandy smirked, and Sonya's temper blew.

"It's not a date! How many times! I'm meeting a friend for drinks! If you can't keep making stupid date jokes, then just go home!" Sonya screamed, storming off to her room and slamming the door behind her. Mandy sat on the nearby chair, realising she had gone too far with her teasing of her best friend. She waited several minutes before going near Sonya's bedroom door. She knocked, but got no reply. After a second knock still gained no answer she dared open the door and put her head inside.

"Sonya?" She asked, finding her friend sat on the floor on the other side of the bed, facing away from the doorway. What made Mandy's heart sink was that she had her face in her hands. "Oh honey." She said as she knelt next to her. "I'm sorry, I clearly went too far. I hoped that I'd stop you feeling nervous."

Sonya lent over and Mandy hugged her, the dark haired woman gripping onto her friends arm to reciprocate.

"I know, but every time you call it a date, you draw attention to the fact that it's not. But it is what I want. And if I am ever going to get to it, then this evening has to go well. She has to see me the way I want her to. I'm not going to make that happen tonight, but I could certainly make sure she never does if I blow it. Mandy, what if I blow it?"

Mandy gripped Sonya tighter. "You are not going to blow it. You are an amazing friend, an even better woman, and by the time you walk out of here, will be the sexiest looking woman in America."

Sonya laughed. "Just America?"

Mandy smiled, knowing she had successfully atoned for her teasing. "Ok, the sexiest woman in the universe! But if we don't start now, you'll never make in time."

Sonya stood herself up quickly. " Fine, then get out so I can get dressed, and I'm choosing all of my clothing, thank you very much." Mandy laughed as she closed the door behind her.

Sonya didn't take long to emerge. She was dressed in a black sleeveless top and skinny black jeans.

"You look perfect, it's kinda like the way Paige dresses." Mandy said as she looked impressed.

"Shows how she's so right for me." Sonya said, trying to sound confident.

"You don't have to convince me, just yourself, now sit." Mandy sat Sonya down and worked meticulously until her makeup was perfect. She gave Sonya a mirror to check it, while she grabbed her hair care products. "So, hair up or down?"

"Down, I'm not anticipating a fight tonight, not that kind of fight anyway."

Mandy plugged in the hair straighteners while Sonya got her phone out and booked her Uber, seeing a short wait for the car. She watched the app while Mandy made her hair look just as good as the rest of her. She finished right on time.

"There's the car. Wish me luck." Sonya said as they headed out.

"You don't need luck, just remember you have a shot with her, that she has an interest in women, and hasn't had a lot of luck with guys in her life. Show her how amazing you are, and have fun together. And of course, call me when its all over, I want all the details."

Sonya laughed. "You got it, thanks Mandy, when you aren't teasing me, you're a good friend." Sonya got into the Uber and quickly disappeared around the corner.

* * *

There wasn't a lot going on outside the bar Sonya had been told to come to. Despite all the issues getting ready, she was only about 15 minutes later than the time she was given, so she went in, thinking she'd sit at the bar if there was no sign of Paige. Almost as soon as she was through the doors though, she spotted the unmistakable sight of the woman she was looking for, standing at the bar, talking to an employee. When the bartender went away, she looked round and the two made eye contact.

"You made it!" Paige said in delight as she threw her arms around Sonya. The hug was returned and Sonya couldn't help holding her tight, or a small smile forming on her face.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, you haven't been waiting too long have you?" Sonya asked when she let go.

"No it's fine, we've been here a while." Paige replied. Sonya picked up on her wording, but before she could follow up on it, the bartender returned.

"Here are your pitchers, the food will be about ten minutes." He said, putting down two large pitchers of beer.

"Great, could we get one more glass please?" Paige asked, and was given the glass. "That ones yours, could you grab one of these?" Paige pointed to one of the pitchers and Sonya picked it up. Slightly confused she followed behind Paige, who went between two four person tables, both with several people sat at each. She put one pitcher down and took a seat.

"Everyone, meet Sonya Deville, one of my new partners at work. You'll love her. Sonya, this is, Joey, Raquel, Danielle, Justin, Jenna and Kim." Paige counted off the remaining members of the group then took the last remaining seat on one table. Sonya stood there like a deer in headlights for a moment.

A call of "Hey, you ok?" Came from the other table. Sonya snapped out of her trance to look at the woman who said it, and nodded. "Good, then could I get a beer?" Just before Sonya took offence, she realised she was still holding one of the pitchers. She quickly brought it to the table and then took a seat herself.

She spent the early part of the evening staring across the tables at Paige, who was having a great night, laughing and joking with her friends, while cursing herself for staring at the same time as doing it. She felt embarrassed, with no idea how she was going to explain this to Mandy after all they had talked about. She thought about texting her, but didn't want to appear rude to Paige's friends be being on her phone all the time. Instead she listened to the conversation they were having and found they had similar tastes so she was able to join in the conversation quite easily, sharing the drinks and the good times, making sure she bought the next pitcher for the table.

It was a while before Sonya felt a hand on her shoulder, looking round to see Paige standing there.

"Hey! Look I'm so sorry I haven't gotten to talk to you till now, Justin just got back from 3 months straight working in LA and had a lot of movie set stories for us. I got way too interested."

"Movie set? What does he do?" Sonya couldn't help but be intrigued.

"Costume department for Paramount. He goes wherever he's needed, but a lot of time in Hollywood. Only get to see him on occasion, but that's not the point. I invited you, and I've ignored you. I'm sorry."

"It's fine Paige, your friends have been really nice to me, they're great."

"She's great too, she bought us beer. Feel free to invite her again!" One of Paige's female friends called over, lifting their beer glass.

"Sounds like you don't need more beer babygirl, but don't worry, she's got a permanent invitation to hang out with us whenever she wants."

Sonya looked at her feet at that comment, feeling embarrassed at how happy she felt to hear that.

"You ok?" Paige asked.

Sonya realised how long she had been looking away and stopped. "Yeah, fine, I just appreciate that, and you inviting me out at all. With Mandy spending time with Finn, I don't have a lot of other close friends, and my family are all in Jersey. Feel like I've struck gold tonight with you guys."

"Aww, listen babygirl, you've clearly passed the test with them, and I've always known you are one of the good ones. You're one of us now, and this is the best group of people I could hope to be around, they didn't turn their back on me when I made bad choices, and now it's like nothing happened."

"True friends will stick with you no matter what you do. I know you have had a really bad year, I wish I'd been in a position to help."

"That's really sweet, but I don't think anyone could have helped me, I had to get myself out of it. Getting back to work and my real friends was the key."

"Well I can help with that for sure." Sonya said.

"I hope you do, you certainly have tonight." Paige gave Sonya a smile and they sat back down and kept talking, almost to the point where the others in the group weren't even there. The only thing that broke their connection was when the bar announce the beginning of Karaoke night.

That brought a big reaction from Paige. "Woooo! Oh yeah, karaoke time. Come on Sonya, what are you going to sing?"

Sonya wanted to crawl into the nearest hole, knowing she had the worst singing voice. "Oh, I don't think so. I can't sing. If you heard me, you might all change your opinion of me pretty quick." Sonya laughed at herself as she spoke, trying to mask her horror at the idea of singing, but also keeping in good humour as much as she could.

"No, come on, it'll be fun!" Paige tried to pull Sonya towards the stage, stopping only when a song started up and some guy began butchering 'Don't Stop Believing' on the microphone.

"Are you going to sing?" Sonya asked.

"Yeah, I love karaoke. 'Use Somebody' is my go to, but I can do others."

Sonya smiled. "I'll see you perform, but then I better head home."

Paige feigned sadness. "Ok, you spoilsport. But you owe me at least one karaoke song another got it?'

"Got it, cross my heart." Sonya said, playing along, hoping Paige never remembered she made that promise. She watched her friend climb on stage and Kings of Leon began to play. She watched Paige sing and couldn't help let her imagination run away. In that moment, she was the only other one in the bar and Paige was singing to her alone. As it drew to a close, she shook herself out of it as Paige came back over.

"How was I?" She asked.

"That's why you get up there and sing, and I don't. You were amazing. Ever thought of being a singer?"

"Stop it, you're making fun of me." Paige blushed.

"I mean it, that was really good. I shouldn't have been surprised really. You've had so much success in what you've done so far, and they are even making a movie about it."

"Oh don't, that still feels like a fantasy, but thats so sweet of you. You've got a great story too though, and I think it's only just beginning. I'm lucky to be getting to be a part of it. Make sure they cast me well when they make your movie alright?"

It was now Sonya's turn to blush. She looked into Paige's eyes, all her feeling bubbling to the surface.

"I, Er, I mean, That's a deal, I'll save you a seat on the casting couch, but I really better take off, it's getting late and I've got to be somewhere tomorrow."

Paige walked outside with Sonya and found there were taxis parked outside the bar.

"That's helpful, right, so when are you flying out to Texas for the shows?" Sonya asked.

"Hmm, Houston on Friday, so I'll fly really early Friday morning."

"I'll talk to Mandy, maybe we will do the same."

Great, might see you at the airport, or at the arena."

Sonya nodded. "Can't wait, see you then."

The two hugged, and Sonya got into the cab. Paige watched it drive away as one of her friends came out. Paige didn't hear her and jumped when she put a hand on her arm.

Her friend laughed. "Sorry, but quick, Joey is going to sing "Bad Medicine". You ok?"

"Yeah, just seeing Sonya off."

"She was fun, what made you invite her out?"

Paige took a look back at the taxi, which was now out of sight. "You ever meet someone, and the two of you just click?" Her friend nodded. "That's what happened with us. Hopefully you'll see more of her."

Her friend smirked as they went back into the bar.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Sonya did well to keep her feelings in check, and was a hit with a friends, and with Paige, who seems to be having a good time with her.

Much like the last chapter, this is only happening because of the encouragement that I've received in messages and reviews. It means a lot and if you've enjoyed this so far, please let me know. I hope to see you next time.


	5. Chapter 5

The Deville You Know Ch5

Paige was thinking about all the good reasons she had to have decided to move back to Florida shortly before her return to WWE. Of course she had lots of reasons to get out of where she was, her relationship coming to an unpleasant end, but she chose not to focus on that part, instead looking at all the good things that now were possible due her return to the Sunshine State. It was a far more familiar area to her, she knew loads of spots to eat, drink, and have a good time, plus it had places that attracted people from all over the world. She certainly wasn't against the occasional trip to Disney when there was time.

But more than that was the people. All of her friends were in Florida, and had welcomed her back with open arms. Her apologies had been accepted and put behind them quickly, like nothing had happened. They had picked her back up and shown why they were real friends.

But as she parked her car, she was thinking less about those friends, more about the friends she'd had made more recently. With her injuries, and other reasons, she'd been away from WWE for a long time, but again, had been welcomed back with opened arms, everyone from the McMahons, to those she'd worked with before, had been kind, friendly and supportive of her return, with no ill feelings shown at all. On top of that, she'd made new friends who she had gotten close with. Mandy and Sonya had become her travel buddies, not least because the company liked teams to travel together, and there had been suggestions that they wanted the three of them to record an episode of Ride Along in the near future.

They had also been very keen to learn, being newcomers to the main roster, they had been humble and eager to improve their performances for the fans and the cameras. This is why she was out today, as she looked up the the big building in front of her, bearing the logo of the Performance Centre.

The receptionist greeted her politely as she walked in, and she went into the main hall, equipped with multiple rings and any piece of fitness equipment they could want. Seeing that her teammates were not there yet, Paige found a treadmill and warmed herself up at a slow jog.

When she was done, she got off the treadmill, and found Ruby Riot coming to her at pace. Friends from their Indy days, they two shared a friendly hug.

"Great to see you Paige, how are you?" Ruby asked.

"I'm feeling really good, like I'm years younger. How about you, congrats on the debut by the way." Paige remembered Ruby had debuted on Smackdown only the night after her return.

"Thanks, it's been amazing. Sarah and Liv are just fantastic people too. How have your new girls been?"

"I'm actually here to meet them, put some work in on some double team moves."

"I wrestled Sonya in NXT a few times, she's got a striking game to rival nearly anyone, and she's the nicest girl too."

"Oh I know she is, we've become really close recently, we have a lot in common. Mandy I haven't seen quite as much, she's a bit wrapped up with her new beau, but she puts the work in still." Paige said, feeling the need to try and avoid looking like she was playing favourites. She had spent a lot more time with Sonya and enjoyed every minute of it, but didn't feel comfortable admitting that.

"No doubt, for two who came to the business late, they're doing great, and speak of the devils."

"Or Devilles." Paige responded before she realised what she said. "Oh god, please don't tell anyone I said that, how lame." She couldn't help going red while Ruby laughed.

"What's so funny?" Mandy asked as the two newcomers reached them.

"Nothing you want to know about, trust me. I'll see you later." Ruby couldn't help one last laugh as she walked away towards Renee, who gestured a greeting towards the three left behind.

"So are you both ok?" Paige asked her teammates.

"I think so, I was just getting all the gossip from this one, making me very jealous." Sonya answered, sounding as jealous as she stated.

"Yeah, I was talking to Becky last week, she said Finn is quite enamoured with his blonde bombshell." Paige said, making it Mandy's turn to go red.

"Bombshell is sort of his pet name for me. Because I'm blonde, and because I cause a..."

"Ok!" Sonya interrupted, desperate to change the subject. "Before we hear something that means I can't look at you again, can we get to it, we are all warmed up, how about you?"

"Not quite, why don't you two get in the ring and show me what ideas you'd had, then I can act as the opponent and you can try them on me. Just make sure you can execute them right, I don't want another injury."

"Paige, I would never want to hurt you." Sonya said. Her tone was lost on Paige, but not Mandy, who nudged her.

"Or anyone, right Son?" Mandy added quickly.

"What? Oh yes of course." Sonya realised what she said and quickly rolled into the nearest empty ring. Coach Amato had also joined them, interested in their plans. Mandy and Sonya ran through their ideas, and they went with a striking combo move first. Coach Amato, who had known Paige from days before WWE, offered to help them with their timing instead, to make sure her neck wasn't put at risk, keeping her fresh for tv and live event competition. Paige retracted to the outside, offering her opinion on how the move looked. Sonya was performing a running leg sweep with Mandy's jumping knee, and the first thing Paige noticed was she was getting in a bit too late. She called Sonya to the apron

"Sonya, you need to get a step faster in your run up, Coach is going too far over your strike, she can't wait to sell it or Mandy could break her nose."

Sonya hung her head. "Is it that obvious? Sorry Paige, I'll try that."

Paige put an arm around her, a natural instinct for her. "Don't be sorry, that's why we are here, so when we do it for real, it looks evil. Keep trying."

Sonya squeezed Paige's hand and went back for another attempt. This one was far better, Coach Amato took it perfectly and it looked nasty, but in the way they wanted.

"Yeah!" Paige cheered from the outside. "You did great Sonya, now reset and keep trying it. You could have this ready for this weekend."

Mandy and Sonya kept repeating the move, some of the other NXT girls coming in to make sure any woman would be able to take and sell the move as well as their coach.

Having finished her recording with Ruby Riott, Renee Young was crossing the Performance Centre floor to get a water. She hear Paige encourage Sonya yet again and she stayed watching her. She couldn't miss the smile on her face and the fact that all her attention was on only one of her new protégés far more than the other, or indeed, anything else going on. She was happy seeing her friend smiling again, and couldn't help but think there was an opportunity for her to be even more happy than she had been in recent weeks, and certainly more than the last year and a half.

She went around and stood next to Paige, the dark haired woman lost in the in-ring action until Renee did an intentional throat clear to get her attention.

"Re-nay-nay! What's up sis?" Paige said with a half hug.

"Just got done recording Network stuff. How's all this going?"

Paige pointed out what they were doing. "Sonya has really improved her leg sweep, Coach Amato has really helped. It's looking vicious, fits her style well."

"Great, what about Mandy?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, right. Her knee is her best move right now. If it's booked and sold right in the ring, it could be her signature. With Sonya doing her bit too, it's a tag finisher that will hold up."

Renee laughed. "You brought Sonya back into the conversation right away, did you realise."

Paige got very defensive right away. "I'm not showing her any favouritism here. I want the team to succeed. Sonya just needed a bit more coaching on that move. She's going to be a star in time." Renee raised her eyebrow. "They both are." Paige quickly added.

"Paige, can I ask you a question, and promise not to freak out when I do?" Renee asked, sincerity in her voice that Paige couldn't miss.

"Of course Nay-Nay. Although I can only promise to try." Paige said.

"You've not has a great time in relationships recently, have you?"

"You know I haven't. Guys suck. All of them."

Renee resisted the urge to smile at that response took a breath before talking. "Paige, why don't you ask Sonya out on a date?"

Paige was stunned into silence. The first thing she did when she regrouped was make sure that nobody else heard, especially Sonya, but she was helping Mandy with corner strikes.

"What?" Was the only thing Paige could say. "Are you joking, because that's not funny."

"I'm serious. I know you can't see it, but the way you've been looking at her, the way you've been talking about her. It's not how you look at a coworker."

"Renee, have you been drinking?"

"No I haven't, but remember what happened when we went out and had drinks after your return, at that restaurant?"

"You can't be serious. That was to help her out when those guys wouldn't believe she's gay, not because I want to be with her."

Renee wasn't buying that. "Maybe at first. You don't kiss someone like that for show. Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't enjoy it."

Paige stared Renee in the eye, ready to speak, but she ended up looking away. "Ok, it was good. She's a hell of a kisser. But that doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to start dating a girl."

"Paige, we both know you aren't that closed minded. I'm not saying that you are going to become that militant lesbian stereotype, but if you're attracted to her, admit it and take your shot. If it helps, I don't think there's a snowballs chance in hell that she would say no."

"She wouldn't? Wait, what?"

"Ha!" Renee laughed. "I saw that look in your eye. You are interested in her. She's not like those guys you've dated Paige. I'm not saying she's 'the one' or anything, but you will never know if you don't at least try. Could be the best thing either of you ever did."

Paige found she just didn't have the words to respond, so Renee smiled, squeezed her arm and walked away. Paige turned back to the ring just in time to see Sonya and Mandy hit their double team manoeuvre perfectly on Tegan Nox.

"That's it, I think you've got it. Great job ladies." Coach Amato said before climbing out of the ring. "I'm glad you're back. They're great girls, I think you make a good team." She said to Paige as she went past. Her words did not register properly in the Englishwoman's head, Paige taking it the wrong way with Renee's words still bouncing around in her head. Before she had any more time to try and process, her two teammates were standing in front of her.

"What did you think?" Mandy asked, again getting no answer, Paige was looking at Sonya, a confused expression on her face.

"Paige, you ok?" Sonya asked.

The two newcomers looked at each other as it took several seconds before they finally saw Paige snap back into reality. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so. You feeling good about the move?"

"I think we are now. It was a great idea to come here and ask the coaches for help. I wasn't sure about it so soon after being called up, but you were right." Mandy said.

"It's fine, I came here to get ready to go back into the ring, there's no better place, you'll be here for all sorts of things."

"You're right, but you didn't have to come down. Thanks for having our back." Sonya said as she went to give Paige a hug.

Paige embraced Sonya, but as the two of them held each other, Paige realised that she was enjoying being in Sonya's arms, that the hug felt really comfortable. She let go immediately and jumped back.

"You ok? Sonya asked.

Paige nodded, but faster than she should have. "Yeah, yeah yeah, I'm fine. I, Er, I just need to go." Without another word, Paige turned and left the Performance Center at speed, going straight to her car and practically wheel-spinning out of the parking lot. She drove a mile down the road, pulling in at a drive thru and ordering a diet soda. She then parked and sat there, staring into space as she tried to make sense of all the thoughts going through her head.

"What the hell is going on with me?" She asked out loud, even though nobody could hear her, and even if they could, Paige wasn't sure she wanted the answer at that moment.

A/N: I just had to send out my thanks once more. Not just to you for reading this, but to all who left a review. The last chapter was the most reviewed chapter of anything I've put out in quite some time. It really is the fuel that drives me to keep going, knowing people are enjoying it.

Do you think Paige will be able to figure out what is going on in her head. Did Renee make things better or worse? How will Paige react when she is around Sonya next? I'd love to hear your thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

The Deville You Know Ch6

"Congratulations!"

Sonya had made sure she was the first one waiting for Paige in Gorilla at the end of the match. It was the Women's Royal Rumble and Paige had emerged as the winner after Mandy and Sonya provided enough of a distraction for Paige to eliminate Charlotte Flair and be the last woman standing.

"Thanks, this is incredible." Paige replied, enjoying the hug before she realised it had gone on too long, tapping on Sonya's back to get her to release it, then accepting ones from Mandy and Triple H.

Charlotte was waiting for her turn to come and wrapped Paige up tight in a hug. "I'm happy for you sister, you deserve this."

Paige returned the hug gladly. "You made me look so good out there when it was down to us. I can't wait to return the favour."

Mandy couldn't help but grin, happy for her friend, but she looked across and saw Sonya scowling. "What's the matter with you?" She whispered.

"I've seen her at work the last few weeks, and that's more of a hug than I've had in that time." Sonya said.

"Wow, jealous much?" Mandy replied. "I'm surprised you haven't gone bright green all over. You can't think there's something between Paige and Charlotte can you?"

"Why not, she's blonde, gorgeous, in great shape." Sonya stopped herself as she could feel herself getting upset.

"So do you think she might be interested in me too then?" Mandy asked, getting a small laugh out of her best friend.

"No, you'd never do that to me. Charlotte isn't my best friend though."

"Chill out Son, if Charlotte was going to bat for the other team, she'd be after Becky, not Paige."

"Haha, those two are practically a couple as it is. Maybe you're right."

"Maybe? Maybe I'm right?"

Sonya felt calmer, able to make light of it all. "Ok, I'm sorry."

Before the two of them were able to make any more conversation, Paige and Charlotte came to them and all four left Gorilla quickly. Several other women had come to pass on their congratulations to both Paige and Charlotte on their end of match performance, Mandy and Sonya stood off to the side, feeling out of place as relative rookies compared to the rest of the locker room.

"So, drinks at the hotel bar later?" Becky Lynch asked.

"Trust you, Irish." Charlotte joked.

"Yeah yeah, ha ha, but we should celebrate, it was a big night for all of us."

"I'm in." Paige said, one of several women to signal their agreement.

"Ok great, see you all there." Becky said, ending the conversation. The women moved towards their respective locker rooms, several provided for the women as there were so many of them there for a Rumble match.

"Come on Mandy." Sonya said, feeling left out by Paige in that moment, her common sense being cast aside by her feelings.

"Aren't you going to go to drinks? I was, Finn won't be done for a while." Mandy asked.

"I didn't see an invite come our way, we weren't in that group, and she hasn't been around much. We are just her colleagues, and that's fine."

"Doesn't sounds like you're fine." Mandy said under her breath as they went to their locker room.

Mandy and Sonya showered off, and when they got out, they found Paige nearly ready to go, just putting a jacket on.

"Hey, great job again you two. I look forward to doing something to help you in a big match soon. I don't want this team to always be about me, you're working hard and doing well."

"Thanks." Sonya couldn't help but smile, finding it nearly impossible to be mad at the black haired woman in front of her. Something inside her was screaming to ask Paige to dinner, but, certain of rejection, she stopped herself. "Well, have a good time tonight." She said, turning away.

"Wait, you're not coming?"

Those words were like a drug to Sonya as she felt on cloud nine for a second.

"I, erm, wasn't sure if we were invited."

Paige looked shocked. "Of course you are, you're part of this division, and I really want you there tonight, this team is why I just got booked to win. I'm going to Wrestlemania, and it's thanks to you two as much as anyone. Please come."

Sonya tried to hide her delight. "We will be there. Thank you."

"I'm glad to hear it, see you there." Paige said, pulling the handle up on her case and heading out of the locker room. While Sonya was trying to to get over excited, Paige was walking towards her car, realising that she too, was feeling excited. Again she was getting these feelings that she didn't understand and they hadn't gone away at all from spending less time with Sonya. Renee's words were still floating in her mind as well. She realised she might have to take some more serious steps to prove to herself that it wasn't what she thought it was.

* * *

When Sonya and Mandy reached the bar later that night, they saw about 6 or 7 other women they knew around. They got a glass of wine each and joined Becky Lynch, who was talking with Alexa Bliss at a table. But they both greeted the new arrivals warmly.

"Mandy, how are things going with Finn?" Alexa asked, after some general chit-chat.

"Great, he's a real sweetheart, knows how to treat a woman." Mandy said, unable to hide her smile.

"Sounds like our Finn, a gent till the end." Becky said. "I'm not going to ask for any details, he's like my brother."

"Spoilsport." Alexa said, getting the others to laugh. "What about you Sonya, any gossip?"

"Me? No, none." Sonya replied quickly, shooting Mandy a look that said 'Don't you dare'.

"Quick answer, you absolutely sure?" Alexa asked with a smirk.

"Yes Lexi, I'm very single ok?" Sonya said, hoping that was the end of the questioning.

"Yeah, she is, poor thing." Mandy confirmed. "By the way, has anyone seen Paige?" Neither Alexa nor Becky understood the maliciousness of her question, but Sonya saw the evil smile now on Mandy's face, and called her a bitch with everything but her words.

"Yeah, she's around the corner. Doubt she's free to talk to, think she's trying to end her own lack of action."

"Sonya's eyes were wide as they got on hearing that. She tried not to freak out, standing and walking around to find out for herself. When she got round the corner, she saw Paige leaning against the bar, deep in conversation with a barman who was not doing his job, focused on the one customer. He was a good looking guy, not that she cared personally, but Paige was laughing at something he'd said, clearly flirting with him. When Sonya saw Paige put her hand on the barman's, her impulses took over and she went over.

"Paige, what are you doing?"

The black haired woman looked up. "Hey girl! Come here and meet Rick. He's a barman here, but he's working towards his law degree. He says he's going to be a big time attorney one day."

"Well, Rick, I hope you're a better lawyer than you are a bartender." Sonya said, pointing to the many patrons waiting for drinks, including several of the other superstars.

"I, Er, I better go. Don't go anywhere ok?" Rick said to Paige, hurrying off to some sarcastic cheering.

"What did you do that for?" Paige asked. "He's hot, and we've been getting on really well."

"Paige, why are you doing this? You don't want a bartender so you? You're so much better than him."

"I told you, he's going to be a lawyer."

"Great, so call him when you're suing someone, but come join us over here for now." Sonya took Paige's hand, Paige looked into Sonya's eyes, but when she realised she had, she pulled her hand away.

"No, this is going well. Maybe he's the right one for me. You don't know."

"I do know Paige, he's not the right one for you. He's..." Sonya stopped herself from saying anything else after that, but her pause didn't help her case.

"See, you can't tell me anything. Maybe you should go back to Mandy." Paige turned back to the bar and gave a seductive wave to Rick, who still was barely paying attention to the beer he was pouring. Sonya stared daggers at him as she went back to the table.

"What happened? You look like you're going to set fire to the place?" Alexa asked as she sat down.

"She blew me off for that asshole barman there." Sonya said.

"That one? He is kinda hot." Alexa said, until she saw Sonya's reaction. "Actually, no he isn't."

"He's a creep, but he's won her over by bragging about studying to be a lawyer." Sonya looked around and saw Rick high-five another barman and getting a pat of the back form him.

"Where's he studying, there's no good schools near here?" Alexa asked, making Sonya sit up.

"See, I bet he's lying. I've got to tell Paige. Sonya was up fast, but before she could get to Paige, Mandy pulled her back and walked her over to another table.

"You've got to let this go Son."

"I can't, she's making a mistake. Let me go." Sonya pleaded to no avail.

"No, she might be, but it's hers to make. She's not yours to stop."

"She should be." Sonya said, looking more upset every second.

"I know, but she isn't chasing you right now is she. It's hard to hear, but it's the truth." Mandy was hating the pain she was causing her friend, but it was necessary.

"Fine, I cant watch this though, I'm going to raid the minibar instead." Sonya got up and headed out of the bar at speed. Mandy went after her.

"She ok? Becky asked as Mandy reached their table.

"She's upset. Maybe I should go after her."

"Not yet. Give her a chance to calm down on her own first. Let's get some more wine." Alexa said, getting up to the bar. Mandy shrugged and settled back into her chair, thinking it was good advice, and hoping her boyfriend would get to the hotel soon. She cared for her friend, but didn't want to forget about her night.

* * *

Sonya went straight for the minibar when she got to the room, pouring a miniature bottle of vodka down her neck so quickly that it barely touched her insides as it went down. She grabbed a beer next and downed its contents in one.

"Asshole!" She yelled as she threw the can into the wall and picked up another one, it quickly following its predecessor down her throat, with the can hitting the wall. She laid down on the bed, with the third one ready.

There was a knock at the door. Sonya checked her phone and saw that about an hour and a half had passed. She had messages waiting from Alexa, Mandy and Paige, but tossed the phone aside as there was another knock, but this one far louder.

Sonya staggered up, not really wanting to answer the door but that knocking clearly wasn't going away. She figured Mandy couldn't get in, but when she opened the door, it wasn't Mandy, it was Paige.

Paige's hair was all over the place, her makeup was messed up, her mascara had run so badly she looked like Alice Cooper, and her lip was quivering, she'd clearly been crying.

"Paige?" Sonya asked, shocked to see her. The shock multiplied when Paige threw her arms around Sonya, still crying a bit.

"I'm sorry, I was such a bitch, and you were so right. You were so so right." Paige just got out. Sonya couldn't avoid a quick smile, but knew this wasn't the time for 'I told you so.'

"Honey, calm down, it's ok, talk to me." Sonya said, she regretted the 'Honey' comment but it seemed to help.

He was such an ass. And a complete liar. He's not a law student. He wasn't a student."

"What was he?" Sonya asked.

"A creep, a pervert, a piece of..."

"Ok, I get it." Sonya cut off the English girl who was suddenly getting more and more angry. She gave her a hug, which stopped the anger, but brought back the tears. "It's ok Paige, I'm here, he's not, talk to me."

"He...he just wanted to take pictures of me, you know, naked. And make a video."

Sonya knew what sort of video she meant, and felt anger herself now, but that wasn't needed now. "Oh god, no. Oh Paige, Paige I'm so sorry."

"I told him no, that I didn't want to do that, and he called me a slut, he called me a whore, he even offered me money. I'm not a whore."

Sonya held her tighter as she felt Paige shake as she said that last part. "I know you aren't. You're amazing, you're worth ten of him, ten million of him. I know you didn't do what he wanted, but what did you do?"

"I ran out, and wandered the halls, I couldn't go back to the bar, and I remembered how much of a bitch I had been to you. I had to tell you I'm sorry. I should have listened."

"It's ok, come lie down here." Sonya said, encouraging Paige towards the bed. She got on and laid down, then when Sonya got on to, she went to hug her, putting her head on Sonya's shoulder and her arms around her midsection.

Sonya did her best to hold Paige in turn. She was loving them being like this, but this wasn't the moment for that, she told herself repeatedly. It was doing its trick though, as Paige seemed to slowly calm down over the many minutes, her breathing getting back to normal. Sonya stroked her hair to try and help, but she was doing that for herself almost as much, so she stopped.

"Sonya?" Paige asked almost as soon as she stopped.

"I'm still here." Sonya said, trying to be comforting.

"Why are men such assholes?"

Sonya couldn't stop a small laugh. "I don't know honey, not my field of expertise."

This made Paige laugh in turn. "Sorry, of course it isn't, but they are. Maybe you've got the right idea. For that matter, maybe I should have just listened to Renee in the first place."

This Sonya found confusing. "What did Renee say to you?"

"Oh, she said that I should ask you out. That we could be the best thing either of us ever had." Paige forced herself to laugh after that, but got no response from the woman she was resting on. Paige realised she needed to say something else, and didn't want more conflict in one night, so she tried to keep it light. "I know, She got right in my head. Can you imagine it? You and me? How crazy is that?" More silence. Paige knew she had to move and face her friend who she thought she had just insulted. "Sonya?"

When Paige rolled herself round she didn't see a look of hurt, or embarrassment, or even annoyance on Sonya's face. It was a look of lust, of desire, and it was unmistakable.

Paige didn't know what to do, but that look she was receiving was doing something to her. She could not help herself, she inched closer to Sonya, wanting to see how she reacted, but there was no movement, even as they got to the point where there was no distance between them.

As soon as Paige pressed her lips to Sonya's, she felt the other woman's hand stroke last her cheek and behind her head as she kissed back. This put all her concerns behind her as she wrapped an arm around Sonya, letting herself go.

Sonya could feel her heart beating at a ridiculous speed as this kiss was everything she had thought about and then some. She too let herself get lost in the moment, the two kissing repeatedly.

It was Sonya who made the next move, running her tongue over Paige's lips between kisses. The giggle she got when she did it a second time was one of the cutest things she ever heard and when she felt Paige's own tongue a moment later, she melted, massaging Paige's tongue with her own, the two locked in the throws of passion.

Sonya wanted to move things to the next level more than anything, but she realised that Paige had made no attempt to do so. Knowing her recent troubles, she didn't want to upset her and risk wrecking things so she kept her hands over the clothes and enjoyed the kissing until they reached the point where they had to rest.

Sonya rolled away and stared up at the ceiling, trying not to grin like the cat who swallowed the canary, but she felt overwhelmingly happy. She only hoped that the woman laying next to her was feeling something similar. She took a moment to compose herself, not knowing if Paige wanted to talk, or to pick up where they left off, but when she turned, she found the raven haired woman with that hair over her face, fast asleep. Sonya smiled, seeing the effect the alcohol, the stress her encounter with that asshole barman and the emotion of their moment together had taken on her. She knew not to wake her, so slowly settled herself on the bed, and went to sleep herself.

When she woke, it took several seconds for the events of the previous night to flood back into Sonya's head. Wide eyed now, she was afraid to turn over and face the inevitable conversation with her friend and recent mentor over what happened.

Taking a deep breath, she faced the middle of the bed, to find she was the only occupant.

"Paige?" Sonya called put, getting up. She looked around, seeing no sign of her, she went to the bathroom, turning the light on, not knowing what she expected to find when the light wasn't on before. Paige wasn't in the room. Sonya couldn't help the feeling of sadness, but then she spotted a folded piece of paper on the nightstand with her name on it. She sat by the bed and opened it, but from reading it, she wished she hadn't.

Sonya,

I'm so sorry.

Paige.

Unable to stop the tears, Sonya fell back onto the bed as she felt a pain she couldn't describe.

A.N.: Poor Sonya. Next time she's going to have to try and get her head straight and will go looking for an explanation. But should she? What will Paige have to say when they see each other? And how will Sonya react to it?

My sincere gratitude to everyone who read this story, especially those who have left such encouraging reviews. As I've said, it's the driving force of this story. Thank you all.


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